This invention relates to an autoclave for processing cocoa liquor.
Cocoa liquor forms the starting or basic material in the production of chocolate. It is obtained by grinding cocoa seeds or beans, after separation from their pods which are known to include most of the bacterial load of cocoa beans. Several cocoa grades are commercially available which may vary even on account of such conditions as their areas of origin, season, climates, etc., and cocoa may have an impurity content which varies between lots. This requires that a plurality of processing steps be carried out both on the basic cocoa and cocoa granulate, or on the cocoa liquor formed therefrom, which are directed to provide a cocoa liquor as hygienically faultless as feasible and having the taste or organoleptic properties sought, possibly even where the starting cocoa happens to be of a poor grade.
It is current practice in the art to perform all the processing steps on a number of apparata or devices and in a continuous fashion. Thus, the processed product is more liable to non-uniform treatment due to irregular metering is to travel over transfer paths, and subjected to temporary contact with air, or oxygen contained therein, which may trigger oxidation reactions, etc. With conventional processes, moreover, the use of high temperatures is disadvantageous, e.g. during roasting or drying, which may jeopardize the taste properties of the chocolate then formed. Furthermore, prior processes involve a high energy consumption and very expensive equipment.
Attempts made with fast pasteurizers have failed to give satisfatory results, because they do not permit for the use of the relatively high temperatures that would be required.
In the course of subsequent stages of cocoa liquor processing, that is during the mixing, refining, and above all conching stages, chocolate may be subjected to additional treatment, such as aromatization during conching, in order to bring it as close as possible to a desired taste. Such additional treatments generally require prolonged treatment periods, and consequent increased energy consumption and, once again, high equipment investment costs. Further, transference of the product for treatment through several apparata involves disadvantages and the availability of labor and equipment for both taking care of such transference and monitoring performance of the various steps.